JPH0331505B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a color changing device for a painting robot that performs painting work while replacing a painting gun provided at the tip of a paint supply hose.

For example, in an automobile production line, when topcoating the bodies of automobiles transported by a conveyor, it is common for each body to be painted with a different paint. When trying to perform such topcoat painting using a single painting robot, a color change valve is installed to selectively supply multiple colors of paint to the paint gun, and the paint is applied to the preceding object to be painted first. After finishing painting, and before starting painting on the subsequent object to be coated, there is a difference in color between the previous color paint used on the preceding object and the next color paint to be used on the subsequent object. must be replaced. This color change work is performed by flowing thinner and air through the paint supply line from the color change valve to the paint gun, completely cleaning and removing the previous color paint, and then supplying the next color paint to the paint supply line. It is something that can be done.

Regarding the color change valve, the applicant has
No. 58-58167 improved the conventional technology in which a long paint supply hose was used to connect the color change valve installed on the side wall of a painting booth and the paint gun, and installed the color change valve on the arm of the robot. We have proposed a painting robot that can save paint and cleaning thinner and shorten color change work time by minimizing the number of paint supply hoses between the robot and the paint gun.

However, even with the painting robot proposed earlier, although the paint supply hose connected between the color change valve and the paint gun is arranged at the minimum length, it is still necessary to use the hose when changing colors. It is necessary to wash and remove the previous color paint by sequentially supplying thinner and air inside the tank, and it is impossible to completely eliminate the loss of paint, thinner, air, etc. In addition, since a bundle of paint supply hoses for supplying multiple colors of paint is connected between the color change valve attached to the arm and the painting booth, movable parts such as the robot's support and arm are connected to the bundle of hoses. This caused the problem that the robot's freedom of movement, which is desired as much as possible, was restricted. Furthermore, in order to ensure smooth and reliable robot movement, it is desirable to make the arm as light as possible, but attaching a color change valve to the arm increases the weight of the arm, which is not compatible with the demand for weight reduction. There was a point where I didn't agree with it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and its purpose is to control the paint gun installed at the tip of the paint supply hose connected to the paint container or circulation pipe by the paint robot itself. By attaching and detaching based on the teaching content, there is no need to clean the previous color paint, eliminating loss of paint, thinner, air, etc., and reducing the weight burden acting on the arm of the robot body. To provide a color changing device for a painting robot that can be made as light as possible and as a result allows the robot body to move freely and accurately.

The configuration adopted by the present invention to achieve this objective includes a painting robot body, a bracket provided at the end of the arm of the robot body and having a support portion with a flat front surface, and a a clamp that is formed in a U-shape in cross section so as to sandwich the attached cylinder mechanism and the supporting part of the bracket from left and right, has a claw protruding from the inner surface of the tip, is attached to the cylinder mechanism and is displaced in the front-rear direction; a member, and a grip portion whose front surface serves as an abutment surface capable of abutting against the support surface of the bracket, and the grip portion moves between the claw portion and the support portion of the bracket in response to displacement of the clamp member. a plurality of holders removably held by the robot body, a plurality of paint guns attached to each of the holders, and a holder positioned within the operating range of the robot body and attached to each of the paint guns. It consists of a frame and a paint supply hose for each color connected to each paint source that supplies paint to each of the painting guns.

With this configuration, the painting robot body approaches the pedestal based on the teaching content, inserts the gripping part of the holder arranged on the pedestal into the U-shaped clamp member, and reduces the cylinder mechanism. By displacing it in the direction, the gripping portion is clamped between the support portion of the bracket and the claw portion of the clamp member, and the abutting surface of the gripping portion and the support surface of the bracket are brought into contact with each other, and the gripping portion is On the other hand, attach the paint gun via the holder. Accordingly, since the painting gun is attached to the tip of the arm of the painting robot body, the paint supplied from the paint source via the paint supply hose can be sprayed from the painting gun. On the other hand, when changing the color, the holders to which the painting guns are attached may be arranged on the pedestal by the reverse operation as described above.
As a result, by repeating the above-described operations, it is possible to perform painting work while sequentially replacing painting guns with different paint colors.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the invention. In the figure, 1 is the painting robot body (hereinafter referred to as the robot body), and the robot body is attached to the base 1A.
and a turntable 1B provided on the base 1A.
, a column 1C rotatably supported on the turntable 1B, and an arm 1 rotatably attached to the column 1C and projecting forward from the column 1C.
D, and a wrist 1E provided at the tip of the arm 1D.

2 is a bracket provided on the wrist 1E;
The bracket 2 includes a flat base 2A and a base 2A.
A thick support portion 2B protrudes downward from the tip of A.
and a flat support surface 2C formed on the front surface of the support portion 2B, and the base portion 2A is fixed to the tip of the wrist 1E with the support surface 2C facing forward of the wrist 1E.

3 is a holder, and the holder 3 has a flat base 3A.
and a claw 3 formed downward at one end of the base 3A.
B, a thick grip portion 3C projecting downward from the other end of the base 3A, and a support surface 2 of the bracket 2.
C and an abutting surface 3D formed on the front surface of the gripping part 3C so as to abut with each other.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a paint gun fixed on the base 3A via bolts and nuts 5. A paint supply hose to be described later is connected to the paint gun 4, and a nozzle tip 4A is provided at the tip. Here, the coating gun 4 is constructed as a hydraulic atomization type coating gun that sprays the coating material fed from the coating source to the coating gun 4 from a nozzle tip 4A.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a clamp mechanism disposed below the bracket 2, which detachably supports the holder 3 by bringing the abutment surface 3D of the holder 3 into abutment with the support surface 2C of the bracket 2; Clamp mechanism 6
It is composed of an air cylinder 7 as a cylinder mechanism and a clamp member 13 which will be described later. Here, the air cylinder 7 is fixed to the lower surface of the base 2A of the bracket 2 via bolts and nuts 9A, 9B, and a piston 10 that slides by air pressure is inserted into the cylinder 7. The piston 1
One end is fixed to the piston 10, and the other end is connected to the bracket 2 from the lid 7A of the cylinder 7.
The piston rod 1 penetrates in the direction of the support part 2B of
0A is attached. Furthermore, ports 11A and 11B for guiding compressed air into the cylinder 7 are bored in the lid 7A and bottom 7B of the cylinder 7, sandwiching the piston 10 therebetween. 10A and the outer peripheral surface of the piston 10 are O-rings 12A, 12.
B is fitted respectively.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a clamp member provided integrally with the tip of the protruding side of the piston rod 10A. Claws 13A and 13B are provided on the inner surface, respectively. The clamp member 13 is fitted onto the outside of the support portion 2B of the bracket 2 at a substantially intermediate position, and is movable in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 by the piston 10 via the piston rod 10A.

14A and 14B are bottomed fitting holes drilled in the support surface 2C of the bracket 2, and 15A and 15B have semicircular or conical tips and base portions so as to fit into the fitting holes 14A and 14B. are male-threaded projecting members, and the projecting members 15A, 15B are screwed onto the abutment surface 3D. When the supporting surface 2C and the abutting surface 3D abut each other, the protruding member 1
The holder 3 is positioned and held by fitting the holders 5A and 15B into the fitting holes 14A and 14B.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a pedestal mounted on a side wall 17 in the painting booth, and the pedestal 16 is placed within the operating range B of the robot body 1 in order to hold the holder 3 to which the painting gun 4 is attached when not in use. A plurality of them are arranged at positions outside the painting work area C (see Fig. 5).
An upwardly protruding stepped portion 1 is provided at the tip and middle of the pedestal 16.
6A, 16B are formed, and the protruding step portions 16A, 1
The inside of the recessed part 16C formed between 6B is a bolt.
The bolt head of Nut 5 can be accommodated.

In addition, a rod 18 having a spring seat 18A at the tip and a stopper 18B on the recessed portion 16C side is inserted into the tip side step portion 16A of the pedestal 16 so as to be slidable in the direction of the grip portion 3C. A compression spring 19 is fitted around the rod 18 and tensioned between the outer surface of the spring 16A and the spring seat 18A.

As shown in FIG. 5, the mount 16 configured as described above has a
A number of painting guns 4 used for painting are arranged outside the painting work range C on both the left and right sides.

20, 20, . . . are paint supply hoses disposed between the mount 16 and each painting gun 4, 4, .
21, 21, . . . are located outside the painting booth, separated from the robot body 1, and are composed of a paint container 21A filled with paints of different colors and a paint pump 21B, and 22, 22, . The base end of each pipe 22 is connected to the paint container 21A via the paint pump 21B, and the tip is connected to the paint supply hose 20 at the frame 16.
A paint gun 4 is attached to the tip of the paint supply hose 20.

Reference numerals 23, 23, . . . are hose expansion and contraction mechanisms provided between the pedestal 16 and the painting gun 4, and each hose expansion and contraction mechanism 23 is connected to a curved guide rail 23A protruding from the side wall 17 of the painting booth. Guide rail 23
It consists of a pulley 23B that is rotatably engaged with the pulley 23B, and a support rope 23C that has one end fixed to the pulley 23B and the other end fixed to the paint supply hose 20. In this embodiment, each of the guide rails 23A is formed in a curved shape extending to near the tip of the arm 1D of the robot body 1, as shown in FIG.
It is designed so that it can follow the free movements of the robot.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained. Note that the operations described below are performed by playback operations based on teaching, for example.

First, before starting the painting work, the holder 3 that supports the painting gun 4 is attached to the step 16 of the pedestal 16 with its claw 3B.
B, and the inner surface of the gripping portion 3C is held on the pedestal 16 while receiving the pressing force of the spring 19. Note that each painting gun 4 is arranged at a predetermined position on the pedestal 16.

On the other hand, the robot body 1 is also in the standby position, and the piston 10 in the cylinder 7 is supplied with air to the port 1B side, and the clamp member 1 of the clamp mechanism 6
3 is in the most extended state.

Next, when a command to start painting work is issued from a control device (not shown), the robot body 1 moves in accordance with this command and is positioned below the holder 3 to which a predetermined painting gun 4 is fixed. be located. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the clamp mechanism 6 is raised in the A direction by the arm 1D, and the gripping part 3C of the holder 3 is inserted into the space A, and the fitting hole 14
The lifting of the clamp mechanism 6 is stopped at the position where the projection members A, 14B and the projection members 15A, 15B face each other.

Next, the arm 1D pushes out the bracket 2 in the direction (R) in the figure, and the protruding members 15A, 15B fit into the fitting holes 14A, 14B. At this time, since the tips of the protruding members 15A, 15B are semicircular or conical, even if there is a slight positional deviation from each fitting hole 14A, 14B, the pushing force of the arm 1D will correct the positional deviation. After modification, the fitting holes 14A, 14B and the protruding members 15A, 15B can be fitted. When the bracket 2 is pushed further forward, the support surface 2C of the bracket 2 and the abutting surface 3D of the holder 3
When the brackets 2 collide with each other and the bracket 2 is further pushed out in the direction (R) in the figure, the holder 3 slides backward on the pedestal 16 while compressing the spring 19.

Next, when the holder 3 slides backward a predetermined distance, the arm 1D of the robot body 1 stops driving. Then, the port 11A side of the cylinder 7 is pressurized by the directional control valve (not shown), and the port 11A side of the cylinder 7 is pressurized.
The B side is exhausted, the piston 10 retreats, and the clamp member 13 also retreats in the direction C, so that the clamp member 1
The claws 13A and 13B of 3 engage with both side edges of the gripping part 3C, and the gripping part 3C is firmly pressed against the support part 2B, so that the painting gun 4 is attached to the tip of the wrist 1E of the robot body 11. be done.

Furthermore, the robot body 1 is driven again, and the arm 1
When the bracket 2 is raised in the direction A in the figure by D, the coating gun 4 is separated from the pedestal 16, and then
The main pillar 1C of the robot body 1 rotates and the arm 1D
rotates, and the coating gun 4 is moved toward the object to be coated. At this time, the paint supply hose 20 connected to the paint gun 4 is connected to the moving paint gun 4.
However, the pulley 23B is also pulled via the support rope 23C, and as a result of rolling along the guide rail 23A, the paint supply hose 20 follows the movement of the robot body 1 and extends.

When the coating on the object to be coated is finished, the arm 1D of the robot body 1 rotates to move the coating gun 4 onto the mount 1.
Return to direction 6, but at this time, paint supply hose 2
0 is only supported by the pulley 23B via the support rope 23C, the paint supply hose 20 is also pulled back by the movement of the robot body 1, and the intermediate portion of the hose 20 is also maintained in a hanging state. dripping

However, the arm 1D of the robot main body 1 that has returned to the vicinity of the pedestal 16 first touches the grip portion 3C of the holder 3.
The back surface is brought into contact with the spring seat 18A, and while pressing and compressing the spring 19 toward the rear of the pedestal 16, the claw 3 of the holder 3 is pressed.
B is located behind the stepped portion 16B of the pedestal 16. Next, when the arm 1D retreats toward the robot body 1, the holder 3 slides forward on the pedestal 16 by the spring force of the spring 19, and the claw 3B of the holder 3 engages with the stepped portion 16B. The holder 3 is held on the pedestal 23 by this. Thereafter, the clamp mechanism 6 is operated, the robot body 1 is driven, and the bracket 2 is
The holder 3 and the bracket 2 can be separated from each other by retracting the bracket 2 or the like in the reverse order of the mounting operation.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the same components as those of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

However, the feature of the second embodiment is that the paint supply hose 20 is extendably accommodated in a hose take-up reel 31, and the hose take-up reel 31 is provided at a position close to the frame 16 on the side wall 17 of the painting booth. It is in. Here, the hose take-up reel 31 is a cylindrical case 31A having an entrance and exit for the paint supply hose 20.
and a rotating shaft 31B that is rotatably inserted through the center of the case 31A and has a flow passage formed therein having an opening opening in the radial direction and an opening opening on the shaft end surface. The rotating shaft 31B
A winding drum 31C is fixed to the case 31A and is installed between the winding drum 31C or the rotating shaft 31B and the case 31A, and the winding drum 31C connects the paint supply hose 20. Spring 31D that always biases in the winding rotation direction
It is composed of. Then, the rotating shaft 31
The other end of the pipe 24 whose base end is connected to the paint container 21A is connected to the opening on the shaft end surface of B via a joint 31E, and on the other hand, the radial opening of the rotary shaft 31B has a painted tip. The other end of the paint supply hose 20 connected to the gun 4 is connected so that paint is supplied from the paint container 21A to the paint gun 4 regardless of whether the paint supply hose 20 is wound up or pulled out. ing.

Therefore, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the coating gun 4 supported on the pedestal 16 via the holder 3 is attached to the robot body 1 by the same operation as described in the first embodiment at the start of the coating work. be done. When the painting gun 4 is moved toward the object to be painted, the paint supply hose 20 connected to the painting gun 4 is also pulled out from the hose take-up reel 31 against the spring force of the spring 31D. It's coming. Furthermore, when the painting work is completed and the painting gun 4 returns to the direction of the mount 16, the tensile force of the robot body 1 does not act on the paint supply hose 20, so that the hose 20 is connected to the spring 31D stretched on the hose take-up reel 31. The coating gun 4 is sequentially wound around the winding drum 31C by the spring force, and the coating gun 4 is supported on the pedestal 16 via the holder 3.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, the robot body 1 and the coating gun 4 can be attached and detached using the bracket 2 fixed to the robot body 1 using the clamp mechanism 6 fixed to the robot body 1 and operated by pneumatic pressure. Since the paint gun 4 is configured to be clamped to the holder 3 to which the paint gun 4 is fixed, the paint gun 4 can be attached and detached rotationally and reliably according to a predetermined program.

Further, in the above embodiment, a plurality of fitting holes 14A, 14B are formed in the support surface 2C, and protruding members 15A, 15B are provided protrudingly in the abutment surface 3D, so that the clamp mechanism 6
When gripping the holder 3, the fitting holes 14A,
14B and protrusion members 15A, 15B, a concave portion or a convex portion is formed on the supporting surface 2C, and the abutting surface 3
A convex portion or a concave portion may be formed in D so that the bracket 2 and holder 3 are held by a so-called spigot fit.

Furthermore, although the air cylinder 7 constituting the clamp mechanism is a specific example of the cylinder mechanism of the present invention, it is not limited to a pneumatic cylinder, but a hydraulic cylinder may also be used.

In the above embodiment, the paint source 21 is composed of a paint container 21A and a paint pump 21B, but a paint tank is used as the paint source, and a circulation pipe for circulating the paint is provided in the paint tank. , the pipe 23 may be connected to the circulation pipe.

Further, the paint gun 4 is not limited to a hydraulic gun, and may be configured as an air gun that has an air hose attached to the paint supply hose 20 in addition to the paint hose, and promotes atomization with air from the air hose. Good too.

As detailed above, the arm end of the painting robot body is provided with a bracket having a support portion with a flat support surface on the front surface, and the bracket has a U-shaped clamp member with a claw portion at the tip. a plurality of holders each having a grip portion whose front surface serves as an abutting surface capable of abutting against a support surface of the bracket; each holder is connected to a paint supply hose connected to a paint source; Since the structure is such that a painted paint gun is attached and a holder with the painted gun attached is placed within the operating range of the robot body, the robot body and cylinder mechanism are operated according to the taught program, and the clamp member is moved. The coating gun can be attached to the robot body together with the holder while the gripping portion of the holder is held between the claw portion and the support portion of the bracket. As a result, the robot body can perform painting work while changing colors by attaching and detaching the holder according to the desired program, and the color change valve and the paint supply hose between the color change valve and the painting gun can be This eliminates the need to wash the previous color paint when changing colors, and eliminates the loss of paint, cleaning thinner, and compressed air.
In addition, since the number of paint supply hoses that supply paint to the painting gun is limited to one for each painting gun, the weight on the arm of the painting robot body can be reduced, and the robot body can be operated freely and accurately. be able to. Furthermore, since the paint supply hose moves to follow the movement of the robot body, the hose will not hit the support or case of the robot body, allowing the robot body to move accurately. Damage to the hose can also be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a color changing device for a painting robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a clamp mechanism used in the device of the same embodiment.
Figure 3 is a sectional view in the direction of the − arrow in Figure 2, Figure 4 is an illustration of the operation of the clamp mechanism when the painting gun is attached to a painting robot, Figure 5 is an illustration of the arrangement of the pedestal, and Figure 6 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a color changing device for a painting robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 1...Painting robot, 4...Painting gun, 6...
... Clamp mechanism, 16 ... Frame, 20 ... Paint supply hose, 21 ... Paint source, B ... Operating range.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Painting robot body 1 and the robot body 1
A bracket 2 is provided at the tip of the arm 1D and has a support portion 2B with a flat front surface 2C.
The cylinder mechanism 7 attached to the bracket 2 and the support part 2B of the bracket 2 are formed in a U-shape in cross section so as to be sandwiched from the left and right sides, and claw parts 13A and 13B are protruded from the inner surface of the tip. It has a clamp member 13 that is attached to the cylinder mechanism 7 and is displaceable in the front-rear direction, and a grip portion 3C whose front surface becomes an abutment surface 3D that can abut against the support surface 2C of the bracket 2. A plurality of holders 3 whose gripping portions 3C are removably clamped between the claw portions 13A, 13B and the support portion 2B of the bracket 2 according to displacement, and a plurality of coatings each attached to each of the holders 3. The guns 4, the mount 16 on which the holders 3 located within the operating range of the robot body 1 and to which the respective painting guns 4 are attached are arranged, and the respective paint sources 20 for supplying paint to the respective painting guns 4. A painting robot color changing device comprising a series of paint supply hoses 20 for each color.